Costco, Google, and Microsoft are among America's largest employers. Using the resource, scholars learn what makes business like these successful. They write a mission statement for a chosen business, practice drawing organizational...

Learn to forecast the weather using cloud types. Budding meteorologists identify cloud types and learn to use a dichotomous key. As scholars develop observation and identification skills, they discover how different cloud types cause...

Don't worry, just QWERTY! Pupils work to improve their typing speed and accuracy by completing online drills and charting their progress. Additionally, they create a how-to guide for proper keyboarding techniques. 

If you had to write a song about Oliver North, would it be a ballad or a dirge? If you had to put him on a trading card, would he be a hero or the bad guy? Young historians decide for themselves after examining documents from the...

Hurricanes are a destructive yet fascinating phenomenon. Individuals examine evidence that hurricanes use thermal energy from the ocean as they approach land. Learners use images, charts, and graphs to collect data and then draw...

"Equal pay for equal work!" may sound logical but it is not the reality. High schoolers begin a study of the gender wage gap with an activity that asks them to position themselves along a line that indicates whether they strongly agree...

Life can be stressful. Class members fill out T-charts identifying stressors associated with school, parents, friends, and life then list coping strategies that can help with each category.

Gather the entire family (or class members) for a fun Harmony Break! A volunteer thinks of a color from their Mood Meter that they will express by singing, playing an instrument, or performing a dance. After the performance, the audience...

Are spiders related to crabs? Study the order of arthropods with a reading selection about animal diversity. It provides details about each class within the order, as well as vivid pictures and explanatory charts. 

While many mutations are neutral, those that appear advantageous increase in frequency in a population. Scholars use illustrations to make predictions about populations of mice. They follow it up with a video to confirm or refute their...

The ancient Greeks used performance enhancing drugs, such as opium juice, when they participated in the original Olympic Games. Pupils research a website with debate topics to decide if athletes' use of such drugs in modern sports is...

In many places in the world, people go to great lengths to get books to read. This beginning-of-the-year activity uses pictures of people reading in extraordinary situations to stimulate effective listening and speaking using the...

Now that your class has read all of Esperanza Rising, take the time to tackle big metaphors and themes. Pupils will participate in an activity called Chalk Talk, in which they circulate around the room in small groups and add...

If you use a fabulous lesson plan, then your pupils can become fabulous at solving equations. The 24th installment of 25 incorporates the use of if-then statements to illustrate the properties of equality used in solving two-step linear...

What are some universal aspects of refugees' experiences worldwide and throughout history? Scholars read the text "Refugees: Who, Where, Why" and create two class anchor charts. Finally, they each write a paragraph that provides an...

Take a walk with me. Scholars participate in a gallery walk of the anchor charts their groups created about Inside Out & Back Again in the previous lesson plan. Pupils take notes about Ha's character on sticky notes as they take the...

As part of their study of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, class members participate in a silent discussion of the novel using a Chalk Talk chart. They then respond to the teacher's questions by writing their thoughts on the chart....

Let your understanding of multiplying decimals flourish and multiply. After briefly reviewing place value concepts and how to add and subtract decimals, scholars learn to multiply a decimal fraction (like 0.6) by a whole number. They use...

Be sure to place value on place value understanding. Young mathematicians learn to divide decimals by whole numbers when compatible numbers are not available. They use place value discs in place value charts, then connect this strategy...

Class members meet in their drama circles and share their thoughts on why it might be necessary for the audience to know something the characters don't. They read Act 3 Scene 2 of A Midsummer Night's Dream and complete consequence flow...

Pretty ugly, jumbo shrimp. Oxymorons are awfully good! Scholars reread Act I, scene 2 from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream while participating in a drama circle. Next, they begin working on anchor charts to dissect Shakespeare's...

Scholars extend their research of the food chain that Michael Pollan discusses in The Omnivore's Dilemma. They determine additional consequences of the food chain and add them to their Cascading Consequences charts. Additionally, pupils...

What are the consequences of the local, sustainable food chain? Research teams explore the question as they review Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma. The teams complete Cascading Consequences charts and then choose research topics...

Equip the class to perfect their presenting skills. To prepare for an upcoming oral presentation, scholars create and analyze an anchor chart for effective speaking skills. Pupils also use their research to add to their Cascading...